


Miku in Wonderland

by Adagal



Category: Vocaloid
Genre: Alternate Universe - Alice in Wonderland Fusion, Dreams, Gen, also some swearing, but only in chapter 3, implied drunkeness
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-18
Updated: 2021-02-23
Packaged: 2021-03-13 14:40:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 7,916
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29527944
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Adagal/pseuds/Adagal
Summary: Alice in Wonderland but it's Vocaloid. That's p much it.
Comments: 12
Kudos: 6





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Mahoustar](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mahoustar/gifts), [Draconia1011](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Draconia1011/gifts).



> I want to gift this story to Mahoustar and Draconia1011! they're both such lovely people who make great vocaloid stories! I wouldn't continue making vocaloid fics on here if it weren't for them, so thank you both so so very much! ^u^

It was a lovely day in the village. The sun was just about rising over the houses, dotting the sky with pinks and blues as the orange set over the horizon. The fishermen and miners were leaving for their daily work, and the morning bread was just being baked.

Miku Hatsune ran outside her house, tears falling down her face. She wiped her cheeks with her hands as she ran, all the way to her older sister Luka, who currently sat under a tree, a book in her hands.

“Miku? What’s the matter?” Luka asked, seeing the distressed girl dash up to her. Miku fell to her knees next to the pink haired woman.

“Luka, I had a nightmare, where I went outside, and everything was gone, and you weren’t there, and Neru and Haku, and Miki and- and I was all alone and I didn’t know what to do…” Miku sobbed into Luka’s skirt. Luka rubbed her sister’s back slowly.

“It’s alright Miku,” she assured. “Like you said, it was just a nightmare. None of it was real. I’m still here, and so is Miki and Haku and Neru. No one is going anywhere anytime soon.”

Miku sniffled. “I love you Luka.”

“Same here, Miku. Now, you still have some time before school starts. Why don’t you get some extra shuteye here?”

“Can I rest my head on your legs?”

“Of course you can. Would you like me to read you some of my book as you rest your eyes?”

“Nah, I’ve never been into books period. Besides, the stuff you read is always kinda boring.”

“If you say so. You never know though, books can always take you to magical places if you find the right one.”

“What if none of them are?”

Luka didn’t answer, as she reopened her book and continued to read. Miku huffed and laid her head upon her sister’s lap, allowing her eyes to close and her brain to shut down for a few more hours.

The more Miku rested, the more the world around her seemed to fade away into nothingness, as she drifted into the land of dreams. Soon enough, she was sleeping like a log. Despite all her happier dreams now instead of her recent nightmares, within a few hours, the harsh sunlight of the morning lifted Miku from her deep sleep.

“Ugh, Luka… is it time for me to go to school yet?” Miku asked groggily. As she lifted her head up, she realized it was on the soft grass rather than her sister’s legs. Did Luka set off for work without telling Miku?

“Luka?” Miku called out again. She stared at their house in the distance. _Perhaps she’s inside now, making breakfast._

However, when Miku walked back to their home, Luka was still nowhere to be seen. _Maybe she did leave for work,_ Miku thought. _Or maybe… no, it’s not like my nightmare._

To take her mind off the distressing thought, Miku stared at the clock on the wall, it was only 7:30 am.

“It’s not time for school yet still, I’ll head back to the tree and sleep some more. Maybe Luka’s waiting for me there now!” Miku thought aloud. With a new hop in her step, the girl skipped back to the tree. Luka still wasn’t there, but Miku was a little less worried. She was about to close her eyes again, when the sound of fast feet broke the silence.

Miku had to double take, but running past her and the tree she realized, was a little white anthropomorphic rabbit. Its ears were twisted into screw like shapes with pink patches at the end, and it also wore a grey shirt with long sleeves, and a red skirt.

“What the-” Miku whispered.

“No no, no time to ask questions! I’m late!” the rabbit squeaked out, dashing past the teal haired girl at lightning speed. She then looked at a watch on her wrist. “Oh goodness, I really am late!”

“What are you late for? School?” Miku asked. The rabbit didn’t listen to her call, but simply kept running down the hill. Curiosity got the better of her, and Miku followed the strange creature.

“Little rabbit!” Miku called. The rabbit continued to run down the hill until it reached a tree stump at the very bottom. With a tap of its feet, it jumped through a hole in the side.

Miku stared at the stump, then slipped part of her hand through the hole the rabbit went through. She would never be able to fit through there, not in a million years. Finally overcome with defeat, Miku harumphed and sat down on the stump, brushing the dust off her dress. To her unfortunate luck, the top of the stump gave way, and Miku fell through the top, down down down...

* * *

Miku slowly lifted her head off the ground, rubbing the back of it. Yep, there was a definite bump there. How long had she been falling for?

Carefully, the girl stood up, brushing off her dress and patting down the frizz in her hair. The real question now was, where was she?

“I fell down an old, rotten stump, and now I’m here,” Miku whispered to herself. “What is going on?”

In front of Miku was a dirt path that led to who knows where, but considering she didn’t have much else to do, she took the path as far as it would take her. After a while of walking, the path stopped in front of a house.

“Oh!” Miku exclaimed. She looked the house up and down. Then, she raised a fist to the wooden door.

“Hello? Is anyone there? I feel I may be a little lost.” Miku knocked on the door and waited. No one came to the door, so she tried again.

“Hello?” No response again, but the door opened on its own this time. Miku tensed up a little, but walked through the doorway.

“Uh, excuse me? Anyone in here?” she called out to the dimness.

The room the door led to didn’t amount to much, there was a table and chair with a covered platter, possibly the person’s meal, a coathook with nothing on it, and another door across from where Miku stood.

“Ah-ha! My ticket out!” she cheered upon seeing the door. However, when she stepped closer, the door suddenly shrank to about half her height.

“What the-” Miku reached out to grab the doorknob, but as soon as she grabbed the round handle, it made a noise like someone was hurt. Miku yelped and jumped back.

“Hey! What the heck? Didn’t you ever learn to knock first?” a childlike voice cried from the other side of the door. Or more like, from the door itself! The knob twisted and morphed into the face of a boy, a bandage covering one of his eyes.

“Hello there! My apologies for hurting you,” Miku said, curtsying slightly. “I was just trying to figure out how to leave this place. Unfortunately, you seem to be a little too small for me to pass through.”

“Well that sounds like a ‘you’ problem,” the door snarked, scoffing to the side. Miku frowned.

“Hey, don’t be like that! It’s because of you being so small I can’t get through in the first place!”

“Well I can’t get any bigger than this, so either you find a way to make yourself smaller, or get out of my face. Serves you right for hurting me…”

The door scoffed again. Miku scoffed right back, but her eyes landed on the platter on the table. Maybe that would have something to help her? Carefully, she took the lid off, revealing a plate of three cookies and a glass of milk, as well as a silver key.

“What kind of meal was this person planning to have? A midnight snack?” Miku wondered aloud.

“Hey, that could actually be useful you know! You don’t know for sure!” the door shouted. Miku made a face at it, but picked up the milk anyway and took a small sip out of it, silently apologizing to the owner for eating their food.

Suddenly, Miku felt a rumbling from deep within her stomach. With a loud noise and a pop, Miku blinked to see herself a little less tall than the door.

“Oh! Well that was convenient I guess!” she exclaimed.

“Hey, good for you!” the door cheered. “Now if you’ve got the key, I’ll let you go on your way.”

Miku froze, instantly patting the pockets on her dress. She completely forgot the key! The door seemed to notice her dilemma and chuckled.

“Well if you’ve got no key you’ve got no chance of getting through here. Unless you can get one of those cookies that is.”

As the door’s eye directed to the table, Miku craned her neck to see the giant cookies that lay there. She winced, it was going to be a long way up.

“I mean, I could always just get one of those for you, but after the way you’ve been acting around me, I’ve been having second thoughts,” the door sighed. Miku gasped and sat on her knees, her hands clasped together.

“Oh Mr. Door, please help me! I don’t know what I’ll ever do if I can’t find a way out of here! My sister must already be so worried about me! Oh please help me out Mr. Door!” she pleaded.

The door smirked. “Well since you were so kind, I guess I should help you after all. Here, have this.” Suddenly, one of the cookies dropped from the table, shrinking in size until it was big enough to fit in Miku’s hand. After a million ‘thank yous’, Miku popped the bite sized cookie into her mouth and swallowed it. She then felt the familiar rumble again, and quickly, she grew so big that her head hit the ceiling. She growled angrily.

“You dirty trickster! You didn’t say the cookie would make me grow this big!” she yelled.

“Hey pipe down, you’re hurting my everything. But you are right, I didn’t say you’d grow that big. I just said the cookie would help you get through here. You’re big enough to get that key now, so why don’t you grab it and get back down here?” the door said.

With a low harumph, Miku reached for the key and the now tiny glass of milk, only to realize it was empty. She gasped, then she screamed.

“Whoa whoa, it’s ok. I was just sorta-” The door tried to apologize, but was quickly drowned out from Miku’s tears. Slowly they started to fill the room, pooling at her ankles, then partway up to her knees.

“Mmph! Mm-mmph!” the door cried. Miku rubbed her eyes and looked down to the pool of her tears, only to see she was shrinking again.

_ Those tears must’ve had some shrinking liquid still in em, _ the door thought to itself.

Miku sank lower and lower into the pool, soon becoming her tiny height again, while now trying to swim in what was now a sea of salty tears.

“Help! Help! I can’t swim well!” Miku cried, flailing her arms everywhere. 

The waters soon developed a current, pushing the girl closer and closer towards the door, which had no choice but to open against all the pressure. Miku grasped for some sort of object she could grab onto as she flew out the doorway, but utterly failed, and sank deeper into the water, praying on a hope that she’d be ok in the end.


	2. Chapter 2

“Lady!”

“Hey Miss, are you alive?”

“I get the ribbons if she’s dead!”

_Smack._

Miku fluttered her eyes open to see two kids decked in primary colored clothes staring down at her. They both smiled widely, as a little kid might. They looked to be twins, one girl and one boy.

“You are alive! That’s great!” the girl said.

“We’re glad to see you up and well!” the boy agreed.

“Can you stand?” the girl asked.

Slowly, Miku rose to her knees, then to her feet. She stumbled a little, but she managed to stand up straight.

“Yes, I can. Thank you for rescuing me,” Miku said.

“Oh, I wouldn’t say that. We actually found you washed up on the shore. We brought you here and made sure you weren’t going to die any time soon,” the boy explained.

“Oh,” Miku whispered. “Well, thank you nonetheless, uh… I don’t believe I got your names.”

“Ah yes, you aren’t aware!” The twins spun around each other, their outfits mashing into a block of red, yellow, and blue. When they finished spinning, they stood in a pose, their eyes wobbling from being dizzy.

“We’re Tweedle Lin and Tweedle Ren!” the boy introduced. The girl looked at her brother for a moment, then flicked him in the back of the head.

“No we’re not, you dummy!” she exclaimed. “We’re Tweedle Rin and Tweedle Len! And I’m Rin!”

“Are you? I thought I was Rin!”

“Oh you wish you were Rin.” The twins then walked up to Miku and shook her hands.

“Pleasure to make your acquaintance!” they both greeted.

“And you as well,” Miku said.

“Would you like to hear a story?” the boy, Len, asked. Miku was already starting to walk away when she answered,

“Oh no, I couldn’t. I have to find my way back home from this place. I have school, and my sister Luka must be worried sick about me!”

“Oh please hear our story! It’s a good one!” Rin pleaded.

“And it won’t take too long! We can even tell it to you as you walk!” Len added. 

Miku pursed her lips together, unsure of how to answer. They really wanted to tell her this story, and they would even walk with her as she tried to get home, and they seemed like really sweet kids on top of that…

“Oh sure, why not?” she finally answered. 

Rin and Len high fived each other and spun around again, only this time Rin was now sitting on Len’s shoulders. He walked the two of them down as Rin told the story.

“This is the story of the Evil Princess,” Rin said in a spooky voice.

* * *

_Once upon a time, in a not so distant kingdom, two children were born. A pair of twins, one boy and one girl. The girl was destined to become the ruler of the kingdom, while the boy was made to become nothing more than her servant._

_While the children were still young, their father, the king, died a horrible death. As their mother had died previously while giving birth, this meant the girl was officially the ruler of the kingdom and all its people, while still being so young._

_While the boy had other servants to help him out when doing his job, the girl had no one to help her. Because of this, combined with the sadness over losing her parents, she became cruel and bitter. Some people even say she had no clue how to lead the kingdom, so she instead played around with her power, as a child might._

_Nevertheless, the princess sent the country into dark times. She was a merciless ruler, stealing everyone’s money and using it for herself, not bothering to help her people when they had little to nothing left. There were even rumors that flowers died whenever she walked past them._

_But the princess wasn't entirely heartless. She fell in love with a prince of a nearby kingdom, and wished to marry him. The prince saw how the princess was treating her people, combined with him facing in love with another girl anyway, and so denied her proposal. The princess, furious, sought to murder everyone in the prince's kingdom, including the girl he loved. Angered, the prince rallied the people of the princess' land, and with the help of two knights who once served the princess, they led a revolution._ _They stormed the palace and stole the girl away, right in the middle of her afternoon tea._

_When the princess was captured, the villagers spared no time, and placed her beneath a guillotine. The entire town stood by, waiting for the blade to fall, and their suffering to finally be over. When the executioner asked the princess for her final words, she simply said,_

_“I’m ready for tea time now, father.”_

_Then the command was given, and the princess’ head was chopped off. And while the princess no longer rules over the land, her name would forever be a part of history._

* * *

“But, what they didn’t know was that her twin brother, her personal servant, was the one who actually died!” Len continued. “He agreed to disguise himself as her and vice versa so the princess could escape and be free in another village! She ran away and became a nun, don't cha know?”

Rin flicked Len on the back of the head again. “You always add that ending.” She turned to Miku. “Anyway, wasn’t that a cool story?”

Miku was left stunned. “Well, that certainly was interesting,” she said. “Thank you for sharing that with me.”

“No prob Bob!” Len said. “Anyway, here’s where we leave you! Nice chatting with ya!”

The trio stopped in front of a fork in the road, a dead tree separating the dirt paths. Miku stared at each one, unsure of where to go.

“Wait! Can’t you at least point me in the right direction?” she asked, turning to the twins, only to find them cartwheeling off into the field.

“Of course,” she grumbled softly. “Well now what?”

_You lost, kiddo?_

Miku turned around, unsure as to who the voice belonged to.

“Hey! In the tree, ya dummy!”

Miku whipped around to find a guy with cat ears, claws, and a long tail hanging upside down from one of the tree branches. He had red, fluffy hair, one red eye and one yellow eye, and a sinister grin on his face. Along with that, he wore red pants and a long, white coat, as well as holding a red and black top hat in one hand.

“I asked if you were lost?” he asked. Miku opened her mouth, but then closed it again.

“I’ll take that silence as a ‘yes’.” The cat flipped around on the tree, then landed feet first on the ground in front of Miku. “What? Cats land on their feet, it’s not that weird. Anyway, name’s Chesire. Fukase Chesire. And I can help you find your way, kid.”

“First off, you don’t seem much older than me. But second, I’m Miku, pleasure to meet you Fukase,” Miku greeted. She held out her hand for Fukase to shake, but Fukase simply turned the hand away.

“Don’t got time for shaking hands. Anyway, simply put, just travel down that path there.” He gestured to the leftmost path. “And take this, you’ll know when you need it.” Fukase pressed two small chocolate bars in Miku’s palm.

“Wait!” Miku shouted before the cat could turn to leave. “How do I know this path will take me home?”

“I dunno,” Fukase answered, shrugging. “Just take it and find out for yourself. Soon you’ll see, how shall we meet again.”

Fukase took a deep bow, though never breaking eye contact with Miku as he disappeared. His grin was the last thing to leave. Miku frowned at where he once stood, but then took the path he told her to take, stuffing the chocolate bars in her dress pockets.


	3. Chapter 3

Miku walked down the path for what seemed like forever, but it turned out that odd cat was right about the path. Along the way, the desolate landscape and dead tree from earlier turned into a beautiful, sunshine and butterfly-filled meadow. Unfortunately, the path also ended there, getting smaller and smaller as Miku continued.

“Well that’s a peachy pear,” she muttered. “Now how do I get home?” Miku went to place her hands on her hips, but felt one hand brush past her pocket, which contained one of the chocolate bars Fukase gave her.

“Hey wait a mo,” Miku whispered, pulling both bars out. The one wrapper was blue and had an S on it, while the other one was raspberry colored, and had a B on it. Miku’s eyes lit up as she realized.

“Hey, thanks Fukase!” she grinned, pulling the wrapper off the blue wrapped bar and taking a bite out of it. Suddenly, she shrunk down to half the height of a blade of grass, just as she predicted. Even better, she could see the path again!

“Perfect!” she giggled, skipping down the dirt road.

“Ahhhhh! Excuse me! No time! I’m late!” a familiar voice yelled. Miku stopped herself to find the rabbit from earlier running down the path, holding her watch in the air.

“Hey, you’re that rabbit I saw earlier! What are you late for?” Miku asked. Despite her questions, she was simply pushed aside by the rabbit as she continued to run down the road through the meadow.

“Hey wait! I want to help you!” Miku called after her, starting to give chase to the strange creature. Despite her best efforts however, the rabbit was too fast for her, and sped off into the unknown, leaving Miku tired and out of breath, and most of all, left in the dust.

“Something wrong, hon?” a new voice asked. This one sounded almost motherly. Miku looked up to find the source of the voice, only to find a red rose staring down at her.

“You seem tired. Wanna take a rest here?” the rose asked her, her voice motherly. Miku nodded, and sat down at the base of the flower, careful not to hurt herself on any thorns.

“I’m Meiko, it’s nice to meet you, child,” the rose introduced. “Hey everyone, come meet my new friend!”

Around Miku and Meiko, multiple flowers popped up, stretching out their leaves and petals. There was a lilac, a yellow lily, and a white windflower awake now, all staring at Miku and the rose lady.

“Hello there, strange girl,” the lily greeted. “My name’s, well, Lily. The windflower is named, uh, well Flower, and the lilac is Yukari.” She gestured to the other flowers next to her, who bowed their heads respectively.

“Nice to meet all of you,” Miku said, still breathless. “I’m Miku, and I’m trying to find my way home from here. I’m also trying to find out where that rabbit from earlier is headed.”

“Rabbit? Oh, you mean Teto!” Flower said. “Yeah, she’s always late for stuff. Doesn’t sleep much either. Surprised how she does anything, honestly.”

Miku hummed a little, growing more and more tired under the shining sun. “That’s interesting to know. Speaking of, I’m starting to get sleepy as well. I’m not sure why though, I had a nap earlier before I arrived here.”

“That’s alright,” Yukari assured. “If you want to take another nap, we’re happy to sing to you to help you fall asleep. Right girls?”

The other flowers agreed. Meiko lowered down a leaf for Miku to use as a blanket, which the girl accepted and curled up under.

“Thank you all so very much,” Miku smiled. She then yawned loudly. The flowers grinned, and started to sing to her. The song was a soft lullaby, one only a collection of flowers could sing for someone to fall asleep to. Miku hummed again and let her body weight sink against Meiko’s stem. Within a matter of seconds, she was asleep.

After another minute or two, the song was finished, and all the flowers stood up straight, allowing their leaves to take in the afternoon sun. It shone brightly in the sky, casting a red shade through Meiko’s petals and onto Miku’s body as she slept. A few minutes later, the girl was woken up by the sounds of hiccuping and low toned giggles.

“Goodness, I forgot how great chlorophyll can be sometimes,” Lily sighed, her words a slurred mess.

“I got too much this time, I feel dizzy,” Yukari smiled. “Anyone else feel like this? Hic!”

“You and me both sister,” Meiko agreed.

“Are you guys ok?” Miku asked.

All the flowers looked down at the girl, everyone but Meiko confused. Meiko’s face instead turned to a look of disgust.

“Oh shit! It’s a weed! Ugh, gross! Get out you little…” Meiko bent her stem down, one of her thorns headed right for Miku’s face. The girl quickly jumped out of the way, as the thorn instead pierced through the leaf she once slept under.

“Oh you’re right!” Yukari agreed. “It- hic! is a weed! Quick, someone get it before it steals our sunlight!”

One by one, the flowers smacked their faces into the ground, trying to squash Miku as she ran away in terror.

“What did I do?” Miku cried, trying to gain her footing. Not soon enough, she exited the meadow, the flowers she once considered her friends now yelling angrily at her for being a weed.

Tired from running once again, Miku stopped beneath a mushroom to dry her tears. So many rude things said to her, she barely had any time to process the whiplash in the flowers’ attitudes. She wasn’t a weed, she didn’t mean to cause any harm. Then, she felt a hand on her shoulder. Reaching over to feel it, she realized it wasn’t actually a hand at all, it was more like a foot. A collection of feet too, it seemed, as more and more in a line trailed up to above the mushroom. Curious, Miku climbed up the legs to find the owner, ignoring the various “Ow!”s from whoever the feet belonged to.

When she reached the top, she saw a man with deep blue hair chewing on what looked like a stick. He wore a blue scarf and a short, white jacket, which uncovered his bottom half. Said bottom half being that of a caterpillar’s. Miku’s eyes widened, noticing the man looked at her furiously.

“Excuse me!” he said. “Do you see me climbing up all over your legs? What was that for?”

Miku bowed her head in apology. “I’m sorry, sir! I only wanted to figure out who placed a foot on my shoulder!”

“Oh that was you? I’m sorry then, but don’t think I’ll ever let you live this down. Oh I completely forgot, who are you anyway?”

Miku stood up straight and curtsied. “My name’s Miku Hatsune.”

“I’m the local Kaitopillar,” the caterpillar introduced himself.

“Nice to meet you Mr. Kaitopillar. I have a question. Do you know how I can get home? Or uh, know anyone who can help me get home? I’m a little lost.”

The Kaitopillar tapped his chin, continuing to chew on his stick. “Hm, don’t think I know. Sorry.”

“Ah, thank you at least. I’ve had a very long day so far, I’ve probably missed the entire school day thus far, my sister’s most likely started a search party to find me, oh I’m sure she’s worried sick about me.”

“Sounds like you’ve had it rough so far,” Kaitopillar pulled another stick from behind him. “Cookie stick?”

“Oh no, I must decline. I’ve already had a bit of chocolate…” Miku’s gaze trailed down to her dress pockets again. Hastily, she pulled out the raspberry wrapped chocolate bar and bit into it.

“Sorry Mr. Kaitopillar! I must be going now!” Miku said as she started growing again.

“Hey, it’s alright! Come back anytime you want to chat, little miss Leg-Stepper!” Kaitopillar waved goodbye, as a pair of wings started growing from his back, and he took off to the skies. Miku waved goodbye back as she returned to her normal size.

"Now, off to find the way home,” she muttered to herself, continuing to walk through the meadow.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> the sun can be a real drug sometimes  
> also, sorry for probably super fast updates! maybe I can slow things down eventually ^^;


	4. Chapter 4

“Well, looks like someone followed my advice!” Fukase appeared from behind Miku as she continued walking. The girl jumped and screamed.

“Please don’t do that!” she said. Fukase just chuckled.

“Sorry, sunshine. Anyway, glad to see you’re out of that meadow. You also put my chocolate to good use. You’re smart for a ditzy girl like yourself.”

“Excuse me, but I’m not ditzy!”

Fukase shrugged again, one hand twirling his tail around. “Well, the only reason I’m here is to point you in the right direction again. You wanna go that way. Follow the smell of baked goods.”

Miku looked down the gravel path where the cat pointed to. When she turned back to see Fukase, he was gone again, his smile lingering for a second before leaving as well.

Still not over being called ditzy, she stomped down the rocky road, until it led her to a picnic, accompanied by the smell of tea and baked goods.

 _This must the the place,_ she thought, proceeding to walk up to the interesting characters who were at the picnic table. A woman with short, green hair with a large top hat sat on one end, wearing an unbuttoned tuxedo and skirt. An anthropomorphic rabbit, this one slightly bigger than the other one Miku saw -Teto she remembered- sat on the other end. He wore a white kimono, and had lavender patches on his grey fur.

“Ah, hello there young traveler!” the woman sang. “You want to join us? We’re currently celebrating Gackpo’s unbirthday right now!”

“Excuse me, but unbirthday?” Miku asked, taking a seat beside the rabbit.

“But of course! You may have one birthday per year, as you or I or anyone does, but the rest of those 364 days are your unbirthdays! And by golly, that’s something worth celebrating, don’t cha think?” the woman explained.

Miku nervously chuckled, nodding along with what the woman was saying.

“Thank you for inviting me, I guess,” she said. “My name’s Miku Hatsune. Pleasure to meet both of you.”

“Sweet! I’m Gumi Hatter, but you can call me Gumi, or Mad; that’s what some people call me, you know.”

“Oh. How so?”

“I don’t know. Between you and me, we’re all a little mad down here. Anyway, tea?”

“Oh, yes please.”

Gumi flipped the tea cup upside down and tilted the pot. The tea then flowed upward into the cup, until it was filled to the brim. Gumi then tipped the cup back over and slid it to Miku.

“Cream? Sugar?” she asked. Miku shook her head.

“Well, a Merry Unbirthday to Gackpo!” Gumi yelled, lifting her cup. Miku and Gackpo also lifted their cups in cheers.

“Actually, if unbirthdays take place on days that aren’t one’s birthday, then I suppose my unbirthday is today as well!” Miku commented. Gackpo and Gumi stared at her, surprise in their eyes.

“Why didn’t you tell us earlier? This is cause to celebrate!” Gackpo said.

“Oh, no! I was just observing,” Miku responded, instantly putting her hands up. “It’s your unbirthday today, Gackpo, I wouldn’t want to intrude.”

“Intrude?” Gumi interjected. “If it’s your unbirthday too, we must celebrate! Absolutely!”

Miku didn’t have time to protest, as Gackpo slammed a party hat on Miku’s head, and Gumi started cutting a cake, all while the two of them singing an unbirthday song.

Miku darted her eyes around at the growing weirdness around her and the party. It was all such a nice gesture, and she really wanted to stay for cake, but there was still Teto to look for, and a way to get home too. Overwhelmed, she stood up, away from the table.

“Listen, this is all so nice of you to do this for me, but I really can’t stay. I have to find someone, and get home to my sister. I’m sorry, but I’ll have to be going now.”

Gumi and Gackpo looked at Miku strangely, like she grew a second head. Gumi stood up, placing a slice of the cake on a paper plate.

“I’m sorry you’re so unhappy for your unbirthday,” she said, a weak smile on her face. “But if you really must be going, at least take this with you.” She folded up the plate with the cake on it, but when she unfolded the plate, the cake disappeared.

“I only hope you’ll accept this cake. Then again, it might make you go as mad as me, haha!” Gumi holded the plate out for Miku, who took it, folded it again, and stuffed it in her pocket.

“Just so you know, the cake will reappear the second you unfold that plate completely!” Gumi explained. “Now take that slice and be on your way. And don’t forget, we’re all mad in here!” Both Gumi and Gackpo immediately started to laugh themselves silly again as Miku took her leave, one more item now in her possession.

* * *

After a while, Miku found herself lost again, now faced with three paths that all led in different directions. One had rows of bushes, one had pine trees in various colors, and another had wavy red floors.

“Ugh, of course,” Miku grumbled to herself. “If only that dumb cat was here again, at least he’s somewhat helpful here.”

“You rang?” Miku jumped to hear Fukase’s sudden voice again.

“Please stop doing that!” she squealed. Fukase shrugged as he always did, laughing.

“You called me, I was summoned. Anyways, lost again, kiddo?”

“Yes, as a matter of fact I am. Care to be of any help to me?”

“Whatever you say. See, you wanna take that path with the bushes. That’ll lead ya to the Royal Garden. I’m sure the people there can help you find your way home.”   
Miku stared down the path. “Wow. That’s actually very nice and helpful of you. But this really will be my ticket home? No strings attached?”

“As long as the king and queen think you’re cool, then yeah, no strings attached.”

Miku’s mouth dropped a little. “Are you saying there’s a chance this isn’t right? Now see here!” The girl wanted to finish her sentence, but Fukase disappeared before she could speak any more. With a huff, she stomped down the bush laden way.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> we're in the endgame now :)

The bare bushes became more and more filled with flowers as Miku walked past them, particularly roses in white, pink, and red. As much as she loved the pretty flowers, she couldn’t help but itch her nose as they grew more in numbers.

“Darn allergies,” she mumbled to herself, though she still trekked on.

A couple rows of rose bushes later, and Miku found herself at the start of what appeared to be a hedge maze.

“If this leads the way to help, I guess I’m going in!” Miku thought aloud, bravely strutting into the hedges. There were many twists and turns, and it took the girl a while before she found her way to the middle of the maze, where a dozen people dressed as various playing cards were painting white roses red. Or, it was more like the people _were_ various playing cards! Curious, Miku walked up to one card, the 7 of Hearts, and tapped on its arm. It turned around, almost furious with Miku.

“What do you want, girl?” it snapped. Miku held her hands up defensively.

“I was only wondering what you all were doing with the roses,” she said.

The card’s face softened. “Oh, thank goodness. I thought you were one of the queen’s maids. As you can see, we’re painting all these roses red for Her Majesty, the Queen of Hearts. If you want to help us get the job done faster, we could always use the extra hand!” It picked up a can of red paint and a paintbrush off the ground and set them in Miku’s hands. Happily, Miku skipped off to a bush of white roses, and started to coat them in the blood red paint.

“Painting the roses, painting the roses, painting them a beautiful red…” Miku sang to herself as she painted, ignoring her dripping nose and increasingly nasally voice. After a few minutes, she looked up and around her, to see that everyone else had stopped painting, and were looking at something in the distance. Or rather, someone.

From out behind the hedges, the rabbit from earlier, Teto, waltzed in, holding a trumpet and a flag with a red heart on it. She took a deep breath and blew a tune on the trumpet.

“Introducing the King and Queen of Hearts!” she shouted before blowing on the trumpet again.

A red carpet was rolled out, knocking Teto to her feet, though she quickly stood back up again like this happened to her every day. Two people then walked out to the end of the carpet, a man and a woman. The woman had short, fluffy black hair, a light complexion, a red rose in her hair paired with a gold crown, and a large, red dress. The man had short, brown hair with a gold crown on top, red robes, and a red cape covering his body.

“Well, let’s see how we did,” the queen said, rubbing her gloved hands together. She looked broadly around the center of the hedge maze, then at the playing cards.

“You insolent fools!” she shouted at the top of her lungs. “You call these roses red? They’re raspberry colored at best!”

The king laid a hand on the queen’s shoulder. “Prima, please. They look wonderful.”

“Don’t ‘Prima’ me, you! You as well as I do know that these roses have been painted atrocious! And just look at these!” The queen waltzed over to the bush that Miku had been working at, and lifted up one of the roses. “I mean really, who is responsible for this hack job? Step forward, whoever you are!”

There was silence among everyone for a few more seconds, then Miku slowly stepped up, her head hung low.

“That would be me, Your Highness,” she whispered, wiping her nose.

The queen looked the girl up and down. “You? Are you joking me? Who’s responsible for letting this child into the maze? Who?”

The king placed a hand on the queen’s shoulder again. “Hey, I’m sure she didn’t mean any harm, Prima. Is there any way you’d allow her to stay here?”

The queen sneered at her husband for a second, then gazed back at Miku.  
“Oh, alright. Why have you entered my humble abode, young one?”

“I’m trying to find my way home, Your Highness. All I ask is for your help, nothing more,” Miku responded, giving a little curtsy at the end.

“That’s it? That’s all?” the Queen of Hearts asked. Miku nodded.  
“Very well then, I propose a little friendly game of croquet then. Me against you. If you win, I will gladly offer my services in helping you get to your home. But if I win…” the queen grinned, making a slicing motion across her throat. Miku winced, but returned to a straight face.

“Ok. I accept your challenge, Your Majesty,” she said. The queen grinned even wider.

“Then let the games begin!” she announced.

* * *

The queen and king led Miku to a small field not too far from the hedge maze. With a snap of her fingers, two flamingos appeared, upside down. Then two hedgehogs rolled in, one blue and one pink.

“Pick your poison,” the queen said, holding both flamingos out towards Miku. Miku cringed back a little.

“Are the flamingos going to be the mallets?” she asked. The queen nodded.

“Is this ok?”

“You ask too many questions,” the queen snapped, shoving a flamingo into Miku’s arms. “Now, since I’m the queen, I go first! Cards!”

Multiple cards ran up to the course and curled up, creating little tunnels for the balls to roll through. The pink hedgehog curled up in front of the queen’s mallet. With a single stroke, the ball was hit, and rolled up to one of the tunnels, which changed positions so that the ball rolled through perfectly. Then another one, and another one, then all of them. Loud cheering and happy noises could be heard from not too far away, and when Miku turned to see the source, she saw Gumi, Rin, Len, Gackpo, and other animals gathered on the stands cheering the queen on. Miku happily waved to everyone, but no one seemed to notice her.

The queen sauntered back, the flamingo over her shoulder. She stared at Miku with a sort of coldness in her eyes that could freeze Hell over.

“Your turn, dearie,” she whispered, urging Miku to the field. The blue hedgehog curled up, ready for Miku to take a swing.

_I’ve seen people play croquet before, on the fields near town. I can do this. It’s easy, right?_

Miku took a few practice strokes, all the while making the Queen of Hearts more impatient.

“Just hit the stupid thing already!” she yelled. Miku growled a little, then swung her arms back, flamingo in her hands. But just as she was about to swing, her allergies flared up, and she sneezed as she hit the ball. The hedgehog bounced all over and around the tunnels and the trees, then finally hit the Queen of Hearts square in the face. Everyone, including Miku, slapped their hands to their faces.

“Girlie…” the queen growled, plucking hedgehog quills off her cheeks. “Know if you continue this tomfoolery, it’ll be off with your head. You get one more chance since I’m so nice, but next time…” Miku nodded, not needing to hear the rest of the sentence. The queen leaned up against a tree, glaring into the girl’s soul. The hedgehog curled up by Miku again, and she hit it again, this time with a clear shot towards three of the tunnels. Unfortunately, they all scurried out of the way before the ball could roll through. Miku stomped her foot in anger.

“Oh, I’m sorry dearie,” the queen sighed, “but it looks like I win. Let me get that ball for you before we carry out the deal…”

As the queen turned around, Miku could catch a glimmer of a smile on her back, which turned into a face, which then turned into Fukase. He gave a happy little wave at Miku.

“Fukase? What are you doing here?” MIku hissed.

“Wanna get this chick mad?” Fukase asked. Miku’s jaw dropped.

“No! No no!” she whispered.

“I heard yes, I’m doing it!” he said. “You got that cake from Mad?”

“Yes, why?”

Fukase disappeared, then reappeared behind Miku and stole the folded plate from her pocket. Before Miku could catch him, he disappeared again, then reappeared on the tree branch that hung over the Queen of Hearts’ head. He whispered an “oops” before unfolding the plate and dropping the cake slice on the queen’s head. Miku squealed.

The queen turned around, her face beet red.

“You! You did this to me! Me, the Queen of Hearts!” she shrieked. Miku shook her head frantically.

“No no! I wouldn’t do that, Your Highness! It was that dumb cat, Fukase!”

“I don’t care to hear another word about your imaginary friends! You get double the punishment now! Your execution will be public, for all the land to see!”

“Dear? Couldn’t we at least have a trial for her? What if she’s right, and she didn’t drop that cake on you?” the king asked.

“Trial? Do you know who you’re talking to? Do I look like the kind of person who’d run a trial? No!” The queen turned to Miku, pointing a crooked finger at her.

“Off with her head!”

Everyone in the crowd and on the field turned to face the girl, who was slowly backing away, then broke out into a run. Without sparing a beat, the rest of the guests and cards gave chase.

* * *

Miku didn’t even try to look back as she ran through the forest, past the picnic and the flower meadows.

“Miss Miku!” a tiny voice shouted as she dashed past Meiko. Beside her, the Kaitopillar, though he was now a butterfly, flew alongside the girl. Miku yelped, but she didn’t stop running.

“No, don’t fret! I’m here to help you escape!” he said. “Follow me, I know a place where we can hide!” Kaitopillar flew ahead, with Miku following him.

The two ran farther away from the mob, and closer to the house where Miku’s adventure began.

“Wait, I know this house!” she gasped. “Hold on!”

She didn’t stop running until she reached the door, and started furiously jiggling the doorknob.

“Oh Mr. Doorknob! Please help me! Please!” Miku cried. Suddenly, the boy’s face appeared on the knob.

“Sorry lady, but I’m locked! I can’t help you!” the knob yelled.

“Hang on, Miss Miku!” Kaitopillar shouted, swooping in through the keyhole. After a few jiggles and a click, the door unlocked.

“Hurry! Hurry!” the Kaitopillar urged as Miku ran through, just barely avoiding the mob of angry denizens as the door slammed shut.

“I gotta get out of here!” Miku sobbed, holding the door shut with her body weight. Suddenly, she heard the door click again.

“I’ve got these guys, just leave!” the doorknob said. Miku nodded, ever grateful, and ran to the other door across the room. Unfortunately, that door was locked as well, and it didn’t seem like there was any way to unlock it. Terrified, Miku banged on the door.

“Please! Open up! Somebody, please!” she cried. She then gazed through the glass window on the door, and to her surprise, she saw herself, asleep on Luka’s legs as she was that morning. It all suddenly dawned on her.

“Wait,” she whispered, turning to Kaitopillar. “Was I dreaming this entire time? None of this is real?”

“Beats me,” Kaitopillar shrugged.

There was a sudden banging on the other door. Miku quickly turned back to the window, seeing herself twist a little in her sleep. _If this is all a dream, I can just wake up!_ she thought.

“Miku! You have to wake up! Please!” she yelled from behind the window, the banging on the door getting louder and louder. “Wake up! Wake up, Miku!”

_Wake up, Miku! Wake up, Miku! Wake up, Miku! Wake up, Miku..._

* * *

“Wake up, come on Miku, you gotta wake up!”

Miku jolted awake, startling Luka.

“Whoa, everything alright, Miku?” the older girl asked. “You have a nightmare again?”

Miku looked at her sister, then shook her head. “I don’t think so. Not much of it, at least.”

Luka stared at Miku for a few seconds, then said, “Well, apologies for ruining your beauty sleep, but I only wanted to wake you up because you have to leave for school soon. Shall we head off for home to get you ready?” Miku nodded and the two stood up, walking back through the small patch of field to their home.

“So, what was your dream about, anyway?” Luka asked.

Miku smiled, gazing up at the bright blue sky. “Some very weird stuff. Hey Luka, can I borrow one of your books to bring to school today?”

Luka blinked once, then twice. “I’m sorry, who are you and what have you done with Miku?” she joked. The two of them laughed.

“I’m serious, Lu. I think you were right, books can really take you to odd places, I want to see if one you have is anything like my dream.”

Luka chuckled. “Sure.”

“You know, I was wondering if finding a really good book for you is like going down a rabbit hole.”

Luka grinned, chuckling again, but softer this time. “Whatever you say Miku, whatever you say.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thanks so much for reading! and for mahoustar and draconia1011 once again, I hope you enjoyed this! thank you both for inspiring me in continuing to write these stories!


End file.
